Whenever I am in a new country, I realise that you immediately notice things different to what you’re used to, but we adapt so quickly, they become ‘normal’ before you know it. So I make sure I write down as many as I can think of. Here is my list of Random Hong Kong Facts in no particular order:

Fishermen must seal they buckets of fish before they get onto public transport

Few people smoke

Egg waffles are amazing (especially if you like no-so-sweet cakes), but the cold, flavoured milk tea is too sweet!

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In informal restaurants, people nibble the chicken off the bone without using their hands/utensils, then spit the bones out directly onto the placemat

Our favourite Chinese food is Shanghainese food!

Hong Kong is far greener than you’d think!

People walk very, very slowly. Sometimes it is because they’re busy on their phones, but other times they have no reason.

There are lots of public announcements, e.g.:

Always sneeze into a tissue and don’t spread germs (although this is totally ignored!)

Stand still on escalators. Don’t walk on them.

So many people live in apartments in dense city areas, which means they can’t see the sky, so they can’t see lightning from their apartment windows!

Public spaces are generally well organised, efficient and clean, especially tourist attractions etc.

When apartments are built, they often have special shelves built on the outside for the air conditioner to rest on.

Some buildings have a really big gap / hole / opening … for dragons to fly through (Feng Shui)

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Bamboo scaffolding is used almost exclusively. (Why don’t other countries do the same?)

Little warm custard tarts are yummy

Girls congregate in the most unlikely of places. Young Philippino cleaners and au pairs put out a piece of plastic (like shower curtain) and picnic on pavements and walkways.

There are signs everywhere! (I will write about this separately) And people generally adhere to them.

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Hongkinese are very law abiding on the whole, except when it comes to letting other people get off the train/bus first, before starting to get on. (The public announcements for these clearly don’t work)

Few people will get up for an old person on the train, even if they’re sat in the ‘priority seat’ for disabled/pregnant/elderly.

People will never hold the door for you. And if you hold the door for them, you won’t get an acknowledgement or a thank you.

There is no graffiti or damaged public areas. People look after facilities, and use them well.

Transport is very cheap! And good and accessible.

The Citymapper app is brilliant for getting around. It tracks you as you go, so easy to use the buses.

We prefer buses as you see more. And as it is so cheap, we’d hop on buses to go everywhere!

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There are lots of sand flies / midges who eat you alive. I counted over 50 bites on my one leg!

In spite of all the germ control measures, people still pee on the floor! Especially in the boys toilets.

It is quite noisy on buses and trains, as they always have mobile signals, even underground, and people speak at the top of their voices.

We know now that we don’t like food flavoured with 5-spice. But it has a distinctive smell, so we can tell if a restaurant uses it.

We have overcome our fear of street food (thank you to our friends Andrew and Jackie!)

Neither of us like sichuan pepper flavoured foods. (Not to be confused with the British version of sichuan sauce, meaning just a bit spicy!) It has the weirdest sensation while you’re eating them. It feels like 1000 ants are crawling over your tongue, only to be replaced by a numbing sensation. My lips go completely numb.

Almost everyone is on their phone on public transport. I didn’t see a single local person read a kindle or novel.

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Even grannies play CandyCrush on their phones on public transport! (But you aren’t allowed to play Candy Crush in the Chi Lin Nunnery – there is a sign for it, of course …)

There are lots of VERY big bridges, and they are busy building even bigger ones, e.g. building one to Macau!

Some of the best sights we saw were the ones NOT mentioned in the TOP 10 of the Guidebooks. (But we love to get local). See our trip to Tai Po and another day out to Tai O.

There are many cool outlying islands, but on many of these, people still live in high rises, to protect the green space.

Very few people have gardens.

Slurping, burping, snorting, nose-picking and spitting are not uncommon. There was even a young chap on the ferry who cut his toenails, and left the clippings on the floor!

There are lots of ladies doing manual work. But they cover up properly from the sun: Hat, special long sleeves, wrap around their faces. Just eyes visible, and where possible, under an umbrella!

Most ladies (and some men) carry umbrellas for shade – like a parasol.

Few women wear high heels, as they end up walking a lot.

Most people have long commutes to work

There are lots of walkways one level up from the street on Hong Kong Island. Often it is the only way to cross the street, and it can get you lost, especially as many walkways take you through shopping centres.

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People often prefer to walk through shopping centres as they are air conditioned, and keep you dry when it is raining.

When there is a “T8” typhoon alert, people don’t have to go to work.

No-one ever thanks a taxi or bus driver

Taxi and bus drivers generally seem angry and grumpy

Mini buses have a board inside that shows you the speed of the taxi, and a sign that tells you the speed limit is 80km/h

There is CCTV on buses directed onto the luggage rack. That is so you can keep an eye on your luggage downstairs, even when you’re sitting upstairs.

All buses are tracked, and they have nifty signs in them to tell you what the next station is. (Mini buses don’t – but you can keep track via CityMapper or Google Maps)

Some bus drivers drive in such a jerky way – you really need to hold on so you don’t fall off your seat!

Motorways are generally quite clear, even during rush hours, due to the lack of cars.

You can pay for all transport with an Octopus card. (A bit like London’s Oyster card)

You can top it up at the station or at a 711 store

You can only top up in cash, not by card (unless you have a local bank account and have set up a direct debit top-up)

You can also pay for other things with an Octopus card, some shops accept them.

Not all shops accept credit/debit cards or contactless payment, but they will take cash and sometimes and Octopus card. (Compare this to the Netherlands where we were often told they accept debit cards only, no cash!)

Revolut.com has some brilliant new bank accounts and cards for travelling, which can save you lots of money on currency payments and fees. (We believe in them so much, we’re going to invest in them in their next Crowdfunding round!)

Some bus stops have a nifty queueing system, where there are seats in the queue, so you can sit down.

Very few private cars in Hong Kong. And many of the islands, there aren’t any.

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Disneyland Hong Kong’s fireworks start at 9.02pm each night and last until 9.11pm. (We could see them from our lounge window in Discovery Bay)

There was an announcement in the supermarket the other day warning shoppers about taking out loans or paying on credit cards.

UK mobile provider “3” works in Hong Kong, and you can use your data and minutes here for free

Some people are very friendly when you ask for help.

Hardly any coffee shops have toilets. At one Starbucks, I had to go to the next building, and go up to the 16th floor to use the toilet!

There are shops in unlikely places … like on the 16th floor of the building where Starbucks have their toilet.

There are quite a few bakeries selling cakes that are more “bready” than “cakey”. We love them – especially one with apple. They’re light and airy

Hope you enjoyed the rambles. Interested to hear what the Hong Kong locals think. What have I missed out? What differences do you notice when you travel?